Not So Happily Ever After
by addicted2airwolf
Summary: Story 5. When a fairly certain location on Saint John is discovered, can Hawke and the crew rescue him before time runs out? Or is this only another dead end lead?
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

He was an early riser and even this was too early for him, Hawke thought as he waited in Michael Coldsmith-Brigg's office. Marella had brought coffee and enough sweets to keep him on a sugar high for days, but at the moment, it would require too much effort on his part to retrieve them from the table. He hadn't exactly slept well since his most recent excursion in Vietnam which had caused him to doubt many things of his seemingly endless search for his brother, but even beyond that he and Dom had been up late the last two days trying to get one of the Jet Rangers rigged for a film shoot coming up in the morning that Cait was supposed to fly. He had hardly walked in the door when Michael had called on the satellite phone saying he needed to see him immediately.

At last, his long wait of approximately five minutes was over as a somewhat rumpled looking white clad spy entered the room. He wasted no time with presentations or greetings however. Maybe even Michael needed some sleep, Hawke thought cynically to himself.

"You brother Saint John has been found," he said without preamble, "that's the good news. I'm nearly positive it's him in an inconspicuous camp in Cambodia with one other surviving prisoner, maybe two." He paused briefly then continued, "that bad news is that we're going to have a hell of time getting him back. The leaders of this rebel group have been talking about moving, or simply killing, the remaining prisoners in the camp. Guess they figured by now nobody was ever going to come after them and they were becoming more trouble than they were worth. No matter how you look at it, time is extremely limited and there's not much I can do to help you. Despite my efforts to be discreet, the Committee has found out about my little side project and aren't too happy about it. If they find out I've been telling you any of this I'm likely to be terminated and however it goes down I won't be able to help you any more." He handed him a FIRM crested folder. "That's all I can do, Hawke; I'm sorry it isn't more. And I wish you the best of luck, but please, for you sake as well as mine, don't get caught with those files."

\A/

**The Cabin**

**3:40 am**

Michael was right - that had to be Saint John, although looking much older and rougher than he remembered. It had been sixteen years though and nothing could change that. He flipped to the last page of the file and read through it, absorbing every detail.

The mid-air refuels were set up and all he had to do with Airwolf was the standard pre-flight check. If all went well he could be leaving my mid-morning. Climbing the stairs up to the loft, he took a quick shower and redressed, taking a duffle bag in which he packed a pair of jeans and a couple shirts before walking back downstairs and out the front door. He threw the bag and FIRM folder into co-pilot's seat of the Jet Ranger and lifted off toward the hangar.

Caitlin had just gotten to the hangar and put on the first pot of coffee when he arrived, going over the other helicopter before she left for the early morning job.

"What're you up to?" she asked as she gathered her clothes to change into for the scene. "You're up here awfully early even for you."

"Michael found him, but I've got to get over there soon before they're moved again, or worse," he answered vaguely as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "When's Dom supposed to get here this morning? I've-"

"String," Caitlin interrupted, wincing as he yelped in pain from pouring scaling coffee over his hand. "Slow down for a minute will ya? Michael found who? You've already lost me and we've only been talking for about two minutes."

"Michael has located my brother in Cambodia among two of three survivors. The Russian have been meeting with them lately though and there have been rumors of moving the prisoners or simply killing them, and soon."

"When are leaving?" she queried.

"I'm hoping to leave later this morning as soon as I can get out of here."

"Count me in as soon as this shoot is over which shouldn't take more than an hour or two at most. Dom'll probably be along later, but I doubt he'll have any problems."

"Just remember you don't _have _to do this, especially after what happened last time," Hawke reminded.

"We know, but we want to. It's a risk we're willing to take, so stop worrying about it so much - you aren't the only one who gets to go risking your life on a whim."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

"All systems in the green," Dominic reported. "We're ready to go back here."

"Everything looks good over here," Caitlin agreed from the co-pilot's side, "except maybe that hand of yours. You really should be more careful pouring that coffee."

"And maybe I should leave you here."

"Enough playing, children," Dom scolded. "You are both going to stay right where you are, no coffee or ejection seats involved." He punched in coordinates to set the course, adding stops for the mid-air refueling and they were on the way.

\A/

He knew it wasn't a good idea, and he had voiced his opinion rather clearly, but as usual it hadn't changed a thing.

Shots ricocheted off the Lady's white underbelly from the guard below.

String continued to fly low over the camp, allowing Dom to get all the footage he needed, but also giving a fair warning to those below. They were coming in hard and wouldn't be leaving until the job was done.

"Okay, that's all I need," Dom said, "now let's get out of here."

"No arguments here."

He sent them into a climb and they disappeared the horizon to prepare for the siege to come.

Landing a ways off, they all sat around outside of Airwolf discussing the best plan of attack.

"We could try sneaking in on foot, but they'd be stupid not to be expecting us after this evening's little show."

"Or we could come in string from the air," Caitlin suggested. "We'd be a lot safer anyways."

"But we'd still have to land somewhere to actually get the prisoners," Hawke pointed out, "unless we can get an escort vehicle in, that is."

"But it won't have near the firepower Airwolf has," Caitlin objected.

"It has been done before though, I would know."

"Is it possible you just got lucky? Or that the circumstances are a little different? I mean, I'm not trying to doubt your abilities, but there's not a war going on over here anymore, and that might change things a little - less distractions for the enemy."

"Any better ideas?"

"What about what we did that time in Central America? We could come in with the net and fly them just to safety and then worry about getting from the rendezvous home," Dominic suggested. "It limits out aerial combat abilities some, but it would be safer than going in on foot and quicker."

"Worth a try," Caitlin agreed.

"We can try," Hawke replied a little more hesitantly.

Personally he didn't have the best experience with it last time in a similar situation, but he knew there was always a chance a mission going south - like the last one. If he was going to get Saint John back, it was going to involve some risks though. He had accepted that, and even last time they had tried this it eventually worked out.

"It's settled then. Tomorrow we go in; tonight we can go over the video we ran today and plan the exact route."

"Can we do it any sooner?" Hawke asked impatiently, a hint of worry evident in his voice. They were on an extremely limited timetable and he was suffering through every second of it. Every minute they waited was another minute their enemies had to prepare to fight or to move the prisoners. They might even get suspicious about the helicopter flying through this afternoon and start interrogation, he thought regretfully, maybe it hadn't been as wise of an idea as he had originally thought. The longer they waited to move, the less likely there was for this to have a happy ending.

"Don't you think some rest would be a good idea before we go charging in?"

"I won't be able to sleep anyway, and we're giving them more time to plan for our return."

"Let's start going over that footage then and see what we're dealing with then."

\A/

Darkness had settled over the camp, if it could be called that, once again although none of them could say exactly how long ago. The sun had gone down and another mark on the wall, other than that who could say? One of them had been a POW for thirteen years, thirteen years of barely surviving, interrogations, abuse, and hoping that everyday would be the day he got out of this hellish nightmare. Personally, he had quit counting some time ago. At first, being able to keep track of the date was the only hold on reality he had, and the only thing keeping him somewhat sane. These days he found it too depressing to count anymore. He would likely spend the rest of his days here and there was little he could do about it anymore. Gone were the days when he could suffer through a one sided fight and bounce back from it with ease the next day after he got caught trying to sneak out. Now, struggling to his feet was a major ordeal and he had no chance to recover overnight because he seldom slept.

He had thought today was going to be like any other day in the jungles he had been unable to free himself of, and he'd been right, or at least had been until just before sunset this evening. A helicopter unlike any he had seen or heard before had flown over. It's downwash had been a source of hope to him, the power and authority that seemed to be to hang in the air as it glided past gave him strength, but they didn't appear to be coming back though, whoever they were. Why did he suddenly feel so on edge then? He had the feeling something was going to happen but he couldn't tell what or exactly when, couldn't even tell if it was going to be something good or not. Last time he'd had a feeling strong, one of his best friends had been killed and one of the times before was what got him stuck in here in the first place, so he wasn't really inclined to think it was anything great, but it couldn't really get much worse.

He wouldn't say he spoke fluent Vietnamese or Khmer, but he'd been around it enough to pick up on some of the more obvious, and if anything he had interpreted had been correct, none of them were going to be around much longer.

Maybe there was time for one more escape attempt, he thought suddenly. Sure, every time they'd tried previously had ended in miserable failure, but he longed to see something beyond his imagination or what these bars could offer, to see what had changed while he had been imprisoned in a war torn third world country. What had happened to his family, not that he had much to speak of? Was he as string as he had once dared to hope, strong enough to overcome the terrors of this nightmare that ruled his nights, to rejoin society like a normal human being rather than being caged like an animal?

He wished he was. But the lack of strength to even bother standing up said otherwise.

Probably by morning it would all be over.

\A/

Despite the fact it seldom worked, the prisoner had been trying to get some sleep, but tonight it was interrupted by something more unusual. There was a faraway drone hanging in the air, almost like a chopper, but more animalistic, _a whine._ A good couple of minutes later another sound became audible too, this one all too easily recognizable as a UH-1 Iroquois. It was a Huey, although none of them had the foggiest idea why.

Suddenly the quiet night, disturbed only by the chop of rotors and that surreal whine, broke into action, a roaring explosions coming from somewhere down camp, the ammunition storage judging by the size of the explosion. Even from their position on the other end, they could see the red-orange flames shooting up as they greedily consumed the armament. It was followed by barking of machine gun fire, return fire, then a more metallic sound as the great dark colored helicopter served as a shield, drawing fire instead of whoever was below. Then a strafing line of chain gun fire ran across the ground through the camp immediately followed by the Huey appearing out of nowhere, hovering closer to where they were being held. It hovered mere feet off the ground while a single occupant disembarked then flew off again. Barely visible through the dense smog that was settling in, a bright flash shot through the air toward the animalistic helicopter, disappeared, then all became eerily silent again.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Cait smoothed the bandage over Dom's forehead as gently as possible, but couldn't help the sympathetic smile that touched her lips as he grimaced painfully.

"I just don't understand how I could have let that happen," he complained. "I didn't even have a hard job, but I must've zoned out for a second or not been paying attention, something…"

"You were trying to keep String from getting shot and me from getting blown out of the sky," Caitlin reminded, "it wasn't your fault."

"Well it had to be somebody's!" he shot back. "Who knows what they could be doing to String at the moment, and I'm over here bellyaching about my headache when we should be doing something to get him out."

"We will get him out," Caitlin agreed fervently, "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to have to be hauling two people out of there instead of one."

"Not necessary," String said, appearing from beyond the dense foliage, "although you may need you to drag me back to the cockpit." He limped forward another step, a painful expression etching his face, before Caitlin was at his side.

"My gosh," she murmured under her breath, "you look like hell." She was already reaching for the first aid kit as if every moment longer it went untreated could be his last one breathing on this earth.

"It hasn't been a great night," he agreed, "It'll leave it at that."

"What happened?"

"Another example of my expert piloting over there," Dominic remarked cynically.

"Had nothing to do with you," Hawke quickly corrected. "It's not even a bullet wound."

"Then what is it? I'm sure by the time we were done every other living creature for two mile has been scared half to death."

"It's knife wound, got a little too close to the camp."

"And no one was there to pick you up because they were busy getting out only ride out of there shot up."

"I'm not blaming anyone, but we still don't have Saint John or any of the others out and time is still running out."

"We need a new plan then because the last one obviously didn't work, and right now Airwolf isn't in any condition to be trying it again, and neither is String," Caitlin pointed out.

"What if-" Hawke had started, biting his tongue so hard it bled to keep from crying out in pain as Cait poured antiseptic over the still-bleeding wound. "What if we could get Airwolf running about as well as before? Do you think we could get it where she can pull enough weight for four below and two in the cockpit?"

"No," Caitlin was already objecting, "I know where this is going and I don't like it. You can hardly walk - it's just a really bad idea."

"A lot of walking isn't necessary and I'm not seeing very many other options with such a limited number of people and amount of time. If we can get Airwolf in though, I can break in and get the POWs. Dom flies us to safety, simple as that."

"And what if we can't get Airwolf to sustain the weight?"

"Then we have a problem."

\A/

Dominic shook his head and closed the engine cover. "I've done all I can."

"Will is hold?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "It all depends on how many people there are and how much they weigh. Any way you look at it, it's going to be close."

"What about the Huey?" Hawke suggested, the new idea coming to him. "Maybe we could rig the net to hang off of it. It'd be safer for whoever is flying it since they would be further from the actions, and Airwolf can provide air support."

"It might just work."

"I'm willing to give it a try."

"Let's get to work then."

Dom got the net and tools while the other two went to inspect the other helicopter and see what was necessary to attach it.

\A/

The sun was beginning to find its way through the trees on what was to be his final day when he heard _it _again. Nobody else seemed to notice, or care, though. Maybe it was a hallucination. Maybe it was a good thing he wasn't going to be around anymore - it appeared the endless exposure to the elements and regular maltreatment had finally given him the last shove he needed to go over the edge. Or was it really there?

The howling whine beyond the treetops _seemed _real enough, but it wasn't like anything he'd heard before either.

He could replay the previous evening's events with amazing clarity as if they were happening right before him again. _Maybe he was loosing it… _Sitting up more alert than he could remember having been anytime since he'd gotten here, he watched to see what would happen, shifting slightly to get a better view.

What was that? He could've sworn he heard some kind of crinkling noise. Scanning the surrounding area, he saw none of the guards, but every time he moved he heard the noise again. Finally, it occurred to him to look underneath the thin straw-like layer that covered the ground. Rough well-tanned fingers closed around a small piece of scrap paper with a familiar looking handwriting scrawled across it.

_Will be back, be ready by sunrise._

_It ended with an illegible signature smeared with blood._

_The note was a promising sign, the blood, however, didn't look nearly as much so. Did it have anything to do with the strange noises he had been hearing lately? Hopefully, he cast a cursory glance around then nudged the man beside him?_

"_What?" he demanded in a coarse whisper, afraid of being heard and irritated at the same time._

"_Look."_

_The other man snatched up the note, read it hastily, and proceeded to eat it. "Tasty," he remarked sarcastically, although it was about as good as what they were fed. Mostly he didn't want to get caught with it, but considering the conditions, eating it was little of a punishment._

"_Do you think it's real - that someone it coming?"_

_He shrugged. "Better come fast. We're about to be slaughtered."_

"_Said by sunrise - that's now."_

"_Do they look like they're here? Guess that's your answer."_

_He wasn't quite so convinced though. The sun was still coming up, and it was possible to be running a little late._

_Suddenly it hit him like the war all over again. Guards came running shouting and waving rifles. A Huey could be heard in the distance, and explosion erupting in the northern end opposite of the previous night's attack. The animalistic howl came closer until it was visible and identifiable, firing a rocket into an outpost nearby just as the olive drab helicopter came into view, carrying a long rope net with someone dangling below. He jumped out, rolling as he hit the ground, and ran/limped toward the cage. He quickly took out the rusty lock that confined them._

"_Move, move," he ordered even as he swung open the gate. "Get in the net."_

_The prisoners scrambled to their feet and started for the net, but one wasn't fast enough. The last one struggled to get to his feet, obviously suffering from a recent leg injury not unlike his own, and the guards were coming. Flinging the gate open, String stepped inside, hoisting him over his shoulder and intending to take him back to the waiting net, but his recent injury couldn't sustain the added weight and collapsed beneath him._

"_String, you have to get out of there now!" Caitlin warned over the radio._

_He fought to get to his feet, but couldn't find the strength to get far. Blood from his reopened leg wound mad his hands slippery, making it impossible to get a firm grip on the prisoner._

"_String!" Caitlin warned, unable to do anything more, "the place is…" _

_That was as far as she got before the enemy-lobbed grenade exploded._


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"Please tell me they clear," Dom's voice asked over the radio.

"I don't think so. String and two other prisoners were still down there."

"Set down right outside camp then," he instructed. "We've gotta regroup and get back in before it's too late."

"We can't leave Airwolf but we have to hold everyone and there aren't enough people to fly both…. Maybe you could fly the lady, the POW we have can stay up in the cockpit with you - no use putting him in danger unnecessarily - and I'll ride below."

"I don't want to loose you too though, and we don't know what kind of shape they'll be in once we get down there."

"I think String would've made it had it not been for his leg."

"Can you get them in if any of them are full dead weight?"

"I'll have to," she answered simply. "I'm the lightest and weight is an issue, besides that fact I've never flown with the net below and you have. We can't count on them being able to get in themselves, especially since they didn't make it the first time. It doesn't matter if it's last resort because it's the only option we have left."

As much as he hated to say it, she was right and there wasn't any way around it other than leaving them and that just wasn't an options. "Alright, let's got get them then."

\A/

It was only a few minutes after the grenade explosion that worried them so, but it seemed like hours. The net swung form side to side, but she couldn't tell if it was a result of hanging underneath Airwolf or if it was because of her nerves. The smoke below hadn't even had much time to clear, but worry threatened to overcome her. String and the other prisoners hadn't been very far away when the grenade had exploded; how did they fare?

She didn't even want to consider the possibility they didn't make it, but none of them was in great shape to begin with… Now the camp seemed strangely quite considering what had just happened to it. Maybe they thought there problems were solved now - the prisoners gone, killed an enemy while they were at it. But that was far from the end of their problems, especially if they had killed String, she would make sure of it.

Coming up on the part of the camp where she had last seen them, she scanned the area for any sign of them, hoping to see them both alive and well but at the same time fearful of what she knew she might actually find. When she saw the three men, she almost jumped from her position in the net toward them, forgetting how high she still was. For once, gravity was supposed to be on her side, but the descent took an eternity.

At last she was low enough to jump out, but no sooner than she had done so Dom's warning was coming over the radio.

"Cait, you've gotta hurry - people coming from the other end, and not slowly."

"Roger that."

Running to the three motionless men, she was relieved to find each still had a pulse despite how badly they looked. Fragments of shrapnel littered the ground, some sticking unto burnt flesh and blood dripped and pooled in alarming amounts around the bodies, none of which appeared to be conscious.

"Great," Caitlin murmured to herself, "just great."

With no time for delicacies, she grabbed Hawke by the collar and shoulder of the flight suit and dragged him toward the net, pulling him up inside of it, wishing all the while there was more she could do for him. Two more to go and she began to hear the footsteps and voices of the approaching soldiers. As quickly as she could, she returned for the next man, ignoring the puddle of blood she had to step through to get to him or the stains it left on her hands and sleeves as she pulled him by the tattered remains of clothing he wore. It was all she could do to keep from crying at the sad state they were in - the clothes, the sores, scars, and now this… What did they do to deserve this? What did all the families, the people like String, do to deserve no answer - not even dead necessarily - just missing?

Struggling to get he last one in, she could see the leaders of the group coming around from behind. Dom started to pull away but she wasn't ready.

"Dom, hold up. I'm not ready yet."

"We don't have any more time."

"Just a second." With a final hard pull, she got him aboard, leaving her no room except to cling to the outside where the firefight began. "We're all aboard," she announced just before the radio slipped from her hands to its demise and if she wasn't careful what would become hers as well. She worked to tangle her hands into the rope, but it appeared every force was against her and even adrenalin could only fight off exhaustion so long. Now all she had to do was hang on and wait until Dom got them to safety was the last thing she remembered as she dug further into the tangle of ropes with her arms until the world around her faded away.

\A/

"Are you still with us?" the voice vaguely distinguishable as Dom's sounded distorted and far way.

She made no move or reply.

"One of us 's got t-to fly…" a different voice was saying, "was countin' on ya to…" it sounded weaker than the first, struggling to get the words out, but familiar all the same.

Forcing heavy eyelids open, she blinked blearily at the face hanging over her, trying to distinguish his features.

"Ah, Dom, think she's rejoined th' land of the livin'."

A moment later, the face she had finally been able to identify as Hawke's was replaced by Dom's.

"Feeling better?"

"I…" her voice came out a choked whisper until she at last she just settled with nodding.

He helped her sit up and disentangle her hands from the rope, a deceptively easy looking task.

"It's not gonna work, Dom" Hawke said, another grimace of pain contorting his face.

"It's only been a couple of minutes, less than five at any rate. Let her get herself together and see."

"See… see what?"

"If ya kin f-fly," Hawke answered with a slight slur.

"The Lady still isn't a hundred percent and can't handle all that weight," Dom explained, "that catch is, if you've noticed, I'm a few pilots short, and we need to get some medical treatment for all of you all. None of the POWs are in any condition to be flying, and while Mr. Invincible here assures me he can do it, he's doped up on some much painkiller at he moment I'm not sure he couldn't tie his shoe."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

"I really can't believe I'm doing this," Dom muttered to himself as he made sure everyone was properly strapped in. "You sure you can handle this?" he asked for the millionth time.

"I'm going to have to," Caitlin replied, "it's sure not going to get any better sitting here."

" 's no p-prolem," Hawke added.

And I let him sit co-pilot, Dom thought, I really am loosing it. "Okay, be careful then," he said, closing the door and walking around back to Airwolf and preparing for takeoff.

Caitlin had rope burns all over her hands and arms, and had been grazed in the side as they'd taken off, but compared to most of the others she was in pretty good shape.

Of the three rescued POWs, the one in the best condition didn't have a clue about flying, and he was just hoping the others could hang on long enough to get to the hospital. String, well, he didn't really have a clue. Honestly, he didn't even know how he'd survived without being blown apart, not that he was complaining; but Airwolf ad been landed less than a minute and he had already been rifling through the first aid kit. Whatever he had taken had made him entertaining at least, unfortunately, it also left him fearless, clumsy, and overconfident. As long as they made it to the hospital in as close to one piece as they were now it would be alright, but he was beginning to have his doubts.

Nearby, the Huey began to liftoff, and with it all his chances of being any more help. All he could do now was hope and pray.

\A/

"What is it?" Marella asked of her boss. Something was obviously bothering him, but he just say stroking his mustache, a look of astonishment and worry on his face.

"That was Dominic I just finished talking to," he explained, "requesting rooms at the clinic for when they return."

"How bad is it?"

"He didn't say exact conditions, but wanted five beds and he was _hoping _they all made it back. Currently Cait's flying the other helicopter because Airwolf has been damaged and can't hold everyone and she's the best off - only grazed."

"Doesn't sound good. I'll make sure those arrangements are taken care of right away," Marella promised, "anything else I can do?"

"Not yet, right now it's just a waiting game."

"Did Hawke find his brother?"

"I got that implication, but he didn't explicitly say it either."

"How'd he react?" Curiosity was getting the better of her, but now she was anxious to meet this man worth risking his life and searching so many years for.

"Couldn't say, supposedly not acting quit himself at the moment."

"What do you mean not acting like himself?"

"I'd sat morphine and plenty of it."

\A/

Struggling to maintain consciousness, Caitlin continued towards the hospital in a nearby surrounding country. "String, don't …. don't let me pass out here."

"You'll be fine," he answered absently. "How much further? Not f-feelin' 's great."

"I don't know, why don't you check the map for me, alright?"

She received no answer.

"String?" she cast a quick glance toward her co-pilot only to find he was had passed out. "Dammit String, I'm trying _**not **_to pass out, and I need a little help at the moment and you aren't providing it."

"Cait? It is Cait, isn't it?" a thin, now burnt rescued POW asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, Caitlin actually, but you can call me Cait," she replied, blinking a couple times as she tried to focus on the blurring instruments in front of her.

"If you need help, I'll do what I can, should be able to still read the instruments at least."

"I'll whatever help I can get." Dom warned none of the prisoners should be flying because of their condition, and secondly because they hadn't logged any flight time in at least a decade, but he had to be of more use than Hawke was currently and wouldn't matter how good of a pilot she was if she passed out and they crashed.

Despite having a weak, malnutrition body that was now singed and blistered, he hefted her co-pilot away fairly easy considering he was a dead weight.

"Be careful please though," she requested, knowing he wouldn't be very appreciative when he woke in the back.

"Oh String? He'll be alright, can't feel a thing by now, and considering how much morphine he took, I doubt he'll be up for quite a while."

"How much _did _he have?"

"Not enough to do himself in," he assured her, "but pushing it."

That was all of the conversation she remembered until the bump as they landed outside the clinic. She relinquished her grip on the controls and all faded to a blissfully painless darkness.

\A/

He had been in field hospitals that looked cleaner and more sophisticated than this place did, Dom thought grimly, better hope none of the injuries were too serious because if they were, he doubted they could be treated here. There wasn't much choice in where to go around here though. Again, he had to hope for the best.

"Mr. Santini," the doctor addressed as he came from beyond a curtain that separated the patients' rooms and the operating room from the waiting area.

"That's me," he answered even as he stood up from and uncomfortable foldable chair. "What's the news?"

"I think we need to make arrangements to a larger hospital as soon as possible."


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

"To a bigger, more specialized hospital," the doctor amended. "I suspect most, if not all, of them show symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as the injuries they sustained recently."

"Just how serious are these injures?" Dominic asked concernly.

"Honestly, not very good. Three of them have several burns and a considerable number of shrapnel wounds that are extremely susceptible to infection out here. Most of them are malnourished, severely dehydrated, and have sores that should be tended to, and the list goes on. I simply think it would be in all of their best interests, as well as more comfortable for you, to move to a larger hospital."

"I understand. When can they be transferred?"

"I know someone in the city who works at a very good hospital and could probably have a medivac helo here as early as tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

The doctor nodded, appearing pleases he could get one in so quickly.

"How stable are they for a longer distance transfer if I could get someone to fly them there - say, maybe to the United States?"

"That's a very long way," he warned.

'" know that, but, as I'm sure you can guess, we aren't from around here and would like to get back home as soon as possible."

"I see. Most of them would probably be alright, that one you said was Hawke and one other one is in the least stable condition, but if you allow me to run IVs overnight and you don't waste time, they can most likely handle the transfer."

"Thank you doctor, I'll see about making the arrangements right away."

\A/

"Now you want a medically outfitted plane?" Michael repeated.

"You heard what I said. They could be treated over here, but if you want to see your precious billion dollar helicopter and her crew anytime soon I need a plane and a pilot."

"I'll see what I can work out."

"Thanks, Michael."

"I haven't promised anything yet," the deputy director cautioned, although they both knew he would find a way to make it work out. "How are they anyway?"

"I don't know exact conditions on all of them."

"Well tell me what you do know," he returned slightly irritably. "If I'm to be supplying you with all of this I at least want to know why I'm supplying it."

"Hawke is still pretty out of it due to the hefty dose of morphine he gave himself. Other than that, burns and shrapnel wounds of varying intensities I'm told."

"What about the others?"

"We did get Saint John, although I'm not sure String has really realized it yet, and maybe that's for the best. He's the worst of them all - broken ribs, burns, shrapnel wounds, blood loss, malnourished, dehydrated, and definitely a likely candidate for infection. The other rescues POW that was with them is pretty much the same, maybe not quite as bad. The other got out unscathed by the grenade at least."

"Is Caitlin alright?"

"Recovering, but still in the best shape. Barring any complications, she should be on her feel again pretty quickly.

"And you're sure they're stable enough for the trip?"

"The doctor seemed to think so."

"I'll have a plane there by tomorrow morning then. Be ready when it gets there."

\A.

**A Week Later**

**8:40 am**

**Los Angeles, California**

Caitlin O'Shaunessey was sitting on the edge of the bed when Dominic entered the room.

"Where are you headed off to?"

"Hoping I could get a ride with you home. They're releasing me today, on a few conditions, but I'm out of here all the same."

"That's great news. I know I haven't been up here much the last couple of days, so I thought I'd come visit for a while. You want to come see the others with me, and then I'll take you home?"

"Can't," she answered regretfully. "Doctor said my immune system is still weak so I shouldn't be in there with the other going around."

"What other?"

"I thought they told you. String's got an infection or something - real bad fever, can't sleep, didn't look good at all when I last saw him. His brother somehow managed to avoid most the infection, but he's still nursing some broken ribs and now he's caught something. He's having a hard time fighting it off since he can't get any rest because of the nightmares. But he's too tired and sick to move on with the PTSD treatment."

"That's not a good sign. Do you know anything about the other two?"

"Not much," Caitlin confessed. "The one has already been transferred to another ward that deals more with his stress problems, and the other is still in the burn unit."

She looked down at the papers in her lap and then longingly at the open door just down the hall from Hawke's. "Go ahead and go visit. It's going to take me a while to fill out all these release forms anyway."

"You sure? Cause I'm not trying to greet and run."

"I'm sure, and I can't see them anyway. Just tell then I was asking how they were if either is awake, and I'll expect a full report from you when you get back."

"Yes ma'am. I'll get right on it."

Entering Saint John's room first, it being the closest, he thought the younger man was asleep at first, but as soon as he moved to go back out the door found otherwise.

"How is he?" he managed to get out before succumbing to a fitful bout of coughing.

"Who?"

"String, who else?"

Duh, stupid question. Who else would it be?

"You know String, that much I know you can't have forgotten. He's got to be the difficult one about everything - caught an infection, and a good one, but he'll get over it. What about you? If he's up I know he'll be asking about you."

"He saved me life, almost at the price of his," he said, a far away look in his eyes. "How can I ever repay him for that?"

"You don't have to. You being back will be good enough."

"It's not. The pain he's going through, it's my fault. If it weren't for me he never would have gone back when he knew there was no time. The note - the reason why he was stabbed - it was because of me."

"Listen, Saint John, don't blame yourself, I've heard enough of him doing that over the years. It's not anybody's fault, and he would have done the same thing for any of the other prisoners."

"You don't get it. If it weren't for me, he never would have gone back to that nightmare, never would have had to go through this." He gave in to another attack of violent coughing, then rolled over facing the wall, indicating his desire to be left alone.

"If it wasn't this it would have been something else. If it weren't for you he probably wouldn't have been back over there, that was is true, but I'm not sure he ever would have really been able to assimilate back into society as much as he has. Please, listen to me."

"Leave me alone."

"Saint John-"

"Go away before I do something to cause any of you any more pain. I just want to be left alone with no one to worry about and no body to worry about me."


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

When he entered String's room, he found him to be sleeping although anything but peacefully. Sweat glistened on the unhealthy grayish pallor his skin had become, causing the thin sheets to stick to him as he tossed fitfully from side to side in an almost constant convulsion-like manner.

He was sleeping though, wasn't he?

"String?"

No answer.

"String, you alright kid?"

A worried expression on his face, Dominic had started to leave the room in search of a nurse when suddenly he became perfectly still.

Eyelids fluttered open, revealing startlingly fever bright blue eyes. "Dom?" he asked in a barely audible whisper.

"I'm here," Dom assured him, squeezing his hand as a gentle reassurance. "Are you okay?"

Hawke offered a half-hearted shrug. "Been better."

"Yeah, I can see that. It's getting better though, right?"

"I don't know, doesn't feel like it." He attempted to shove himself up into a sitting position but failed, finally giving in to the fact he wasn't going anywhere. "How's Cait and…" his voice trailed off.

_Time was running out, but there was still one left and he couldn't leave him behind. At first it was that he was a prisoner of war who deserved his freedom, but there was more than that - the familiar face. He worked on autopilot, unthinking as he hoisted the other man onto his shoulder. The weight caused an excruciating pain to shoot through his already injured leg, but it was a pain he must bear if they were to get out of here alive. Two step and he went down. The enemy was on top of them and there was nowhere to go. Suddenly a raging heat encompassed them, little shards of metal raining down, hot shrapnel piercing flesh and burning from the outside in. Then all was black._

"_Don't….don't let me pass out," Cait begged._

"_Be fine," he answered, passing out himself only a moment later._

"_Careful please…"_

"_Oh String? He'll be alright, can't feel a thing by now…" It was a brief lapse back into consciousness but the voice was so familiar he would have recognized it in a heartbeat even after all these years. _

_It was Saint John's._

_The realization only not hit, but his brother was back._

_After Sixteen years, Saint John was finally home._

"…Sinj? Saint John's back, how is he?"

"Hanging on," Dom answered vaguely.

"I-I want to see him."

"Sorry, but I don't think they're going to be letting you anywhere until your condition improves."

" 's not good enough. I wanna see him now," he demanded as he spent any remnants of energy he had struggling into an upright position despite the pain it caused him.

"He's sick, you're trying to fight an infection as it is; it's an all around bad idea."

"I don't care. I want to see him." He fought to get the side of the hospital bed, ripping out the IV needles and planned to make his way down the hall. His weak body couldn't handle the strenuous demands being made of it thought and collapsed under his own weight.

String arms caught him before he hit the floor however, helping him back up onto the bed. "See? I'm not just trying to be mean. It really is for your own good. As soon as you're able, I'll help you there myself, just not yet."

Regretfully Hawke had no choice but to accept Dom was right as he stared at the shut door. He was tired of waiting. He had spent sixteen years waiting and he was ready to finally be able to see his brother again.

Glancing up at Dom once more, he offered him a grateful look for not letting him end up on the floor, but did nothing to quash the look of determination in his eyes. "Thanks, but I'll make it on my own."

\A/

"So how are they?" Caitlin asked while Dom expertly made his way through rush hour traffic.

"Difficult."

"It's Hawke's job to give me non- descriptive one word answers, I want a real explanation from you."

"Saint John is still sick, which you knew obviously long before me. Other than that, all I can say is that we have a long road in front of us."

"And String?"

"Likely to break his neck."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he wasn't to see his brother, understandably, but he doesn't believe the laws of gravity apply to him, and nearly getting blown up followed by a serious infection should have no bearing on his physical capabilities."

"He said he was going to try making it down the hall on his own?"

"Try? Hmph. He fought his way free of every tube and needle they've got stuck in him and proceeded to believe he could walk down the hall."

"I take it he didn't get far."

"He would be lying in the floor right now if I hadn't caught him."

"Oh. I can't imagine how hard it must be for him thought - even after he does get his brother back he can't see him. He nearly got killed to save him and as a reward he's spent a week in the hospital and doesn't even know when they'll be allowed to see each other."

"I guess you're right, I'd like to have a good long conversation with him myself once he's up to it, but I know I can't do anything I want after something like that happened either."

"But you've seen him, talked to him. String's been waiting over a decade to do that despite the odds and everyone's been telling him it's a waste of time. Heck, he ahs even taken on the FIRM and a few government officials to keep Airwolf so he could continue looking. Maybe it isn't completely logical, but after that who could be? I can't honestly say that I would be."

"Yeah, I know you're right too. It just frustrates me when he gets so unreasonable, and Saint John is being as much so. I know there are problems to work through, but he was being ridiculous."

"I don't know," Caitlin, said, "I've had time to for opinions on some things, but others I don't even know where to start."


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

"Sir," the nurse addressed in a futile plea for sanity.

"It's Hawke, not sir."

"Hawke," the woman amended. "Please, think about this for your own sake."

"I'm leaving one way or another."

"But you can't just leave," she objected, "you're hardly keeping down any food, don't sleep, and are just getting over an infection, not to mention you've only been to you therapy class once, and you walked out of it."

"I **can **just leave and I plan to; that's why I'm checking myself out. I can keep down _some _food, especially the ones that don't taste like cardboard; I don't sleep much anyway, and a whole hell of a lot less when you all decided you need to wake me up every two hours. I've already been given enough antibiotics to last me a lifetime, and playing the cello by the lake **will **be **a lot **more therapeutic than watching members of you so called therapy group argue with each other. If you have any more problems with me leaving, and I'm not sure why you would considering I've been a complete pain and disruptions to your life the entire time I've been here, I'm sorry but I really don't care." He stood up and stumbled to the nurses' station desk. "I'm leaving all my paperwork here for you and highly suggest you not wasting your breath on my brother because he doesn't seem to be in the mood."

The astonished nurse turned just long enough to see the other new patient she had come to know as as much of a pain, if not more of one, than his younger brother drop a pile of signed paperwork on the desk and join her argumentative nightmare as they exited the building together.

\A/

"So now what?" Saint John asked. "You've helped me escape a POW camp and now a hospital, but what am I supposed to do? I never thought I'd make it out, so I didn't exactly make any big plans."

"First, it's time to make someone else mad at us, then we get the real recovery treatment. So the question is - do you want to meet Cait and have her mad or Dom?"

"Why is it necessary to have either one mad? I don't think I'm in Dom's best graces anyway, and Caitlin seemed pretty nice, but someone I'd like to stay on her good side all the same."

"It's that or steal a helicopter to get back to the cabin."

"The cabin as in our grandfather's old cabin complete with millions of dollars worth of artwork? You still have it?"

"As far as I know; it was there before I left for Cambodia and I'm going to be real upset if someone took out the Strad and Tet."

"Tet is…? Sorry, the only Tet I can think of is the Tet Offensive."

"My dog."

"Oh. How often do you get out there these days? I know you must keep pretty busy."

"Fairly often," String answered with a sly smirk. "I live out there now other than an occasional stay at the hangar when we have an early morning film shoot."

"I guess you do get out there pretty often then."

"Yeah."

"I'm not invading your solitude though am I because I'm not trying to cause any more trouble than I already have?"

String stopped short and looked at his brother as if he'd grown a third head. "You haven't caused any trouble and don't ever think you've been a burden or forced me to do anything I didn't do willingly."

"I almost got you killed though, and I doubt that you would have spent half your life looking for other POWs if it hadn't been for me."

"Maybe not, "the younger Hawke allowed, "but I don't regret it. And if I can make other people's and their family's lives better while I'm at it, all the better." He returned to the task of summoning a taxi, his point made, but the impact would remain.

A taxi pulled up and they climbed inside, heading for the hangar.

"You never did answer my question. Who do you want to tick off? Of course we might be able to 'borrow' a chopper, but then we'll have both of them after us when they realize what we've done."

"I'm leaning more towards borrowing."

"My thoughts exactly.

Rummaging through his wallet, String paid the driver as they disembarked outside the hangar. There was no chance of a clean escape though. Dominic was already leaving the hangar muttering a tirade of Italian that only increased when he saw them. "What are you two doing out of the hospital?! Two days ago you could barely get out of bed on your own and now you're just leaving. You need help - that's why you got flown here from Cambodia in the first place."

'I didn't just leave this time," String rebutted matter of factly, "I officially checked myself out, and Saint John did the same. I even managed to refrain from decking the nurse even though she felt the need to give me the same speech eight times while I filled out my paperwork."

"I'm sure she appreciates you not inflicting any bodily injuries and doing you paperwork, but that don't change the fact you shouldn't be out. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see you're doing better, both of you, but what are you going to do if it's not all better? If you are holed up at the cabin - which is undoubtedly where you were intending to go - and you collapse, what are you going to do then? You're not near any major hospitals, can't get any help because you have no neighbors. And if something were to happen to one of you, I'm not sure the other could physically do anything about it."

"Foxridge is only fifteen minutes by helicopter, and if worse came to worst one can call life flight."

"That's not going to do you much good if it is a life or death situations. If Foxridge is fifteen minutes by chopper, it'll take them another fifteen to get back. You wanna wait half and hour when your life is hanging in the balances?"

"I think you're being a little overdramatic. I could just as likely be perfectly well and fall down the stairs and break my neck, or tip the skiff and drown. It may not be exactly what the doctor ordered, but it is still a way for us to heal. They say time heals all and while I may not totally agree, it sure does help."


End file.
